Does optimism make a difference?

I was surprised to read the viewer statistics for Michael J. Fox's recent TV program, "Adventures of an Incurable Optimist." The program garnered nearly 11 million viewers for that hour. Fox was exploring the idea of happiness, optimism, positive thinking and if/how it affects our lives. Clearly, his own optimism has profoundly influenced his life, especially in grappling with his Parkinson's disease. This weekend, I was visiting my parents and my 84 year old father - a life-long golfer - hesitated to accept my invitation to accompany me to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. "I'm not as steady on my feet as I used to be," he told me. I could sense his apprehension. I mentioned to him that Michael J. Fox took up golf at 40, years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's, and he is most certainly not steady on his feet. "But he learned to make contact with the ball," I assured my father, and that's all you have to do. It might look different, it might feel different, but it's possible. So I've been thinking about where I can apply optmism to where I feel unsteady, figure out how to make contact with the ball, so to speak, change my game by ignoring fear. I tell my coaching clients frequently: you have a choice, you can choose to worry about (fill in the blank) or choose to expect good things, even though you can't predict them. Either way, time will pass, the sun will come up tomorrow. Why not choose optimism while you're waiting? I guess even in that small way - keeping us company while we wait - optimism can make a difference.

One woman sitting alone in a room changed her world

An inspiring portrait of a game changer - -

Yesterday, a colleague pointed me to Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky's book "Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading." It opens with the story of a woman on an Native American reservation who, seeing how alcoholism was tormenting her community, founded an AA group. At first, there were no comers. She set up a neat circle of chairs each week and sat alone in the room. She told her skeptical friend, "I was not alone...I was there with the spirits and the ancestors; and one day, our people will come." After enduring years of being mocked because of how fiercely she was challenging her community's norms, things changed - the room was full, and the community was getting sober.

Where can each of us choose to take a quiet, powerful stand for good?